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Basketball

"Are you not entertained?" (Thanks, JC.) 

I never would've believed it.  A basketball game ending with a tie, 67-67.

What?

Really?  Just the two of them?

Compared to the whole Notre Dame team?

Correction:  Myisha Hines-Allen and Asia Durr scored 67 combined, tieing Notre Dame's total score of 67.  The rest of the UofL team was responsible for the 33 point margin of victory, 100-67.

Where do you even start with talking about this one?  Asia Durr's 36 points?  She just calls that, "Thursday".  Myisha Hines-Allen 12 rebounds?  She has had games with with more.  6 assists for Sam Fuehring and Arica Carter?  Not really out of the norm, same for 5 dimes for Jazmine Jones.  4 blocks for Kylee Shook coming off the bench?  She holds the Colorado state high school record for blocked shots.  12,600+ in attendance?  Big, but we've seen much larger crowds.

I think you have to cover all of that, and really there is more in the stat sheet, all in the same game,and against the number 2 team in the country, to get a sense for what that game was really like last night.  As for the crowd size?  Maybe it wasn't the biggest in UofL WBB history (we've had 22k+ for games against Tennessee, Kentucky and UConn), but I think a decibel meter might have shown that it was the loudest.

As I sit and watch sleet fall outside after a very swift drop in temperature here in Louisville, I think about how last night's game was a perfect storm.  All of the elements came together, in all of the right proportions to demonstrate just how a finely played game of basketball looks and feels.  Asia Durr is a star player, MHA is a blue chip that just works and gets things done, sometimes without acclaim, but the whole team contributed last night, and again in ways that sometimes don't show on the stat sheet such as Sydney Zambrotta with some first rate defensive effort drawing a big charge foul that visibly deflated the Notre Dame squad.

Durr's 36, along with MHA's 31 dominates the headlines, Fuehring and Jaz Jones join them in double figure scoring with 10 each,

Really, when you get down to it, the stat that really makes the game is that UofL shot in the mid-60% from everywhere - in the paint, from the elbow, beyond the 3 point arc, at the free throw stripe (OK, mid-60s isn't great for that one)...the basket must've looked like it was 5 feet across.  I wonder if Asia Durr could've sat next to me in row CC carrying on a in-depth conversation about the finer points of southern cuisine while casually flipping shot into the far-end basket.

"You think I'm something? Say Hello to my little
friend Asia, Dee." 

The crowd was electric, the team was en fuego, Walz was smiling and fist pumping, Sam Purcell
was...well, he was typical Sam Purcell celebrating in his plaid suit coat.  A fine night in the KFC Yum! Center.

Savor this victory, because there's still a lot of season left, we still have a tangle with UConn on their home floor.  For right now, though, we're one of only 3 undefeated teams in the country (Tennessee lost to Texas A&M last night), at 19-0, we're number 3 in the country, likely to be number 2 when the new polls arrive Monday, and life is good in CardNation.

FRED 

"The name's Fred G. Sanford. The "G" stands for
"great"...which is what UofL WBB is." 

You know the drill by now, I give the FRED report, then Paulie posts something ridiculously wrong in the comments.  So let's get to it.

Free Throws?  64% doesn't get it done.  In a close game, if the other team is having to foul to stop the clock, 64% results in a shrinking lead.  Keep getting those shot up in Little Yum.  No letter.

Rebounding?  35-25 over Notre Dame?  Yeah, that'll do.  Notre Dame didn't have a rebounding...at all...until about 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter.  They were 1 and done on offense, and...well...at that point Louisville was shooting about 85% from the field, so defensive rebounding opportunities were just few and far between in the opening quarter for the Irish.  Good total, good margin over the opponent.  "R"

Execution/Effort?  65% shooting?  Outrunning Notre Dame at every position for 40 minutes?  Is there really any question on this one?  "E"

Defense?  Notre Dame's lowest scoring total prior to last night's game was 66 in their win over Penn.  UofL only let them better that by a single point.  "D"

Final Score?  -RED

A rare off night from the charity stripe for this 2017-2018 team, and a few late game miscues that weren't enough to lower any letter grades.  Tighten those up a bit and this team will be unstoppable.

Back in Action

The Cards will get a week before they head on the road to Pitt for another 7pm Thursday night
matchup.  They return back home on Sunday the 21st where they will host Florida State at 5pm.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal Couple Radio Hour plans to be back on the air this Saturday from WCHQ 100.9 FM and streaming on the WCHQ app at 11am tomorrow.  This might get the kibosh if weather turns significantly worse, but I don't believe the forecast suggests that it will be bad enough to cause that.

Wonderful work on the game photos by Jared "Mr Anderson Jared" Anderson today! Not bad for a guy who turns 20's into 5's and 10's...

--
JMcA


Paulie Report

Notre Dame Coach Muffet McGraw breaks
the final score to Sgt. Carter. 

I really can't add a lot to the nice recap that my usually dependable but somewhat quirky main man Worldwide put up here today. Maybe it's because I'm still in a state of shock. Maybe because words escape me on what I just saw 13 hours ago. Maybe because Jeff nailed it right down the fairway.

Musical selections for 19-0.

"Hey Nineteen" Steely Dan

NINETEEN (hundred and eighty five) Paul McCartney

POST GAME MYISHA AND ASIA

POST GAME WALZ

We'll see you on the radio Saturday. I wonder what we'll talk about? 

Paulie
xxxxx






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Breaking News: Cards and Irish - Friday Cardinal Couple - News Paper